The brand new Minister Delegate for Transport, François Durovray, declared on Monday, September 23, that he was “not convinced” by the decision of the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, to lower the maximum speed to 50 km/h on the Paris ring road from October 1.
“I don’t think this is a decision that the mayor of Paris can make alone,” the minister said in his first interview with the daily. The Parisian“I intend to discuss the subject with the mayor of Paris because the ring road is not just the infrastructure of Parisians,” insisted François Durovray, who chaired the departmental council of Essonne, south of Paris, until his appointment on Saturday.
Laying soundproofing coatings, an alternative?
Anne Hidalgo wants to reduce the maximum speed from 70 km/h to 50 km/h on this 35 km urban motorway that goes all the way around the capital, to reduce noise pollution and air pollution. She assures that she is able to make this decision alone and has not waited for the opinion of the State, which claims to have a say. The president of the Ile-de-France region Valérie Pécresse has also expressed her disagreement with this measure, calling for the installation of soundproofing around the ring road to limit noise.
It is a process “that provides very positive responses”, maintained François Durovray, close to Valérie Pécresse and who sat on the board of directors of Ile-de-France Mobilités (IDFM), the union of Ile-de-France transport. “We must also, without doubt, work on the issues of alternative transport offers. There is no point in restricting traffic if there are no alternatives”, continued the minister. On the establishment of a lane reserved for carpooling on the ring road wanted by Anne Hidalgo, he also called for time to be taken: “The offer is not quite mature” for carpooling in the region, he assured. The question of the Paris ring road is a file that is “at the top of the pile given the timetable”, warned François Durovray.